Cats of Paris

Lila De Nobili (1916-2002) was a painter, stage designer and costume designer. Of Italian and Jewish Hungarian parents, she was born in Castagnola (Canton Ticino, Switzerland). She moved to Paris in 1945 where she began her career as fashion illustrator for Vogue. In 1947 she started her career as stage and costume designer working for the most celebrated directors such as Raymond Rouleau, Luchino Visconti, Franco Zeffirelli, Peter Hall, Giancarlo Menotti. Considered 'the last great protagonist of the painted set', she retired from stage design at the end of the Sixties, to dedicate herself exclusively to painting. Claudie Gastine studied at the École des Beaux Arts in Marseille, her birthplace, and moved to Paris in 1960. She met Lila De Nobili at the Comédie Française and from her she learned stage and costume design for theatre and opera. She has worked behind the scenes for the past forty years. Francesca Simone is a restorer of paintings, and lives in Milan. The niece of Renzo Mongiardino, she curated his archive and was the editor of the new edition of Roomscapes (2017). Close to Lila De Nobili because of old family ties, she preserves many letters and works of art by her.